The city of Airway Heights is asking voters to help fund law enforcement needs by approving a ballot measure to increase property taxes slated for the August primary election.
Ordinance C-1030, passed unanimously by the City Council at an April 29 special session, places a “levy lid lift” on the August ballot. If approved, the city’s regular property tax assessment would be lifted by $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value, bringing the city’s share of property taxes to a maximum $2.39 per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2025.
The levy lid lift would remain in place for the next five years through 2030, when that year’s levy amount “will be used as the basis to calculate subsequent levy limits,” per the text of the ordinance. According to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) chapter 84.36, qualifying seniors, veterans and others would be exempt.
“So, this is more of a permanent levy lid lift?” Councilman Davin Perry asked at the April 29 meeting in regards to the new 2030 limit.
City Manager Albert Tripp confirmed the rate, if approved in August, would be the city’s permanent limit to base future levies going forward.
“The thinking behind that is the services we’re talking about providing in terms of public safety and otherwise, those needs won’t stop after a six-year period,” Tripp said. “They will continue on a go-forward basis.”
The proposed levy is another part of a public safety services discussion started by the council over two years ago. The conversations centered on the rapid rate of population growth in Airway Heights and the need to provide the ability for public service entities such as police and fire departments to keep pace.
The city undertook a number of steps to determine what the needs were of each department. The council commissioned a public safety assessments study as part of those steps.
“The assessment included a robust public outreach effort that revealed the community’s desire for more (police) officers, firefighters and support staff,” Tripp said.
The first step towards improving public safety needs took place in August, 2023 when 75.69% of voters approved Proposition 2, which authorized the city to issue up to $8 million in general obligation bonds maturing over 21 years and “levy annual excess property taxes” to repay the bonds. The bonds enabled the city to acquire property and begin construction soon on a new fire station along with other public safety needs, including hiring additional firefighters.
That only addressed part of the problem.
“Another element related to law enforcement the city was not able to make progress in that regards,” Tripp said.
Airway Heights has more than doubled in population over the last 24 years. According to Worldpopulationreview.com, the city grew steadily from about 4,500 in 2000 to 7,700 in 2011, flattening out over the next six years to 8,100 in 2017.
From 2017 to 2020, the population grew by over 25% to 10,800. After a short dip in 2021, it has risen steadily since then to 10,894 in 2024.
In a presentation by Airway Heights Police Chief Brad Richmond at the council’s March 25 study session, while the department has grown over the past five years, it has not kept pace with the calls for service the increasing population has generated. In 2019, there were 9,223, a number that grew to 14,008 one year later and 21,519 in 2023.
As of March, officers had responded to 4,364 calls for service, while the department’s three detectives — the same number as in 2019 — were handling 37 major crimes investigations, 54% of which involved rape, child molestation or child torture requiring “an average of 120 man-hours to complete each investigation and send to the prosecutor.”
Richmond also noted the department is now down seven officers, with one recently leaving for employment with the Eastern Washington University Police Department. If approved, the levy will allow the department to hire one investigator this year and four patrol officers in 2025 – 2026.
Richmond said the lack of personnel and ever increasing complexity of law enforcement has put the Airway Heights department in a reactive mode, something that can “stifle creativity, innovation, and proactive approaches” to keeping the community safe while also reducing the effectiveness of the services.
“With this ordinance and with this levy lid lift, initially we are adding four additional police officers and other services to Airway Heights, which is going to be a huge plus and gigantic relief on Chief Richmond and the guys over there,” Councilman and Council President Larry Bowman said in voting for the ordinance on April 29.
Council also approved three residents to serve on a committee writing the measure’s “For” statement for the August ballot. Jurisdictions with measures in the local voters’ pamphlet are responsible for appointing members of “For” and “Against” committees, which are composed of no more than three members.
Four Airway Heights residents submitted applications to be on the For Committee. Council approved three by chronological order of their application: Mark Szacik, Tamara Jean Stevenson and Jacob Powers. The fourth, Mable Dunbar, was the last to apply and not selected, however, Tripp said she could work in consultation with the three appointed members on the statement.
No one applied to be on the Against Committee.
